The patter of rain on a tent…

…the squelch of a boggy campsite underfoot. Two sounds we’ve become very familiar with here in Ioannia.

No cycling today as the thundery rain from yesterday has continued. Last night we had to get up in the dark and move our tent 20 metres or so as our pitch had become waterlogged, making for an alarming waterbed effect on the groundsheet. My attempt to reassure Rachel by suggesting that our sleeping mats might float was not enough – we got onto higher ground (well a few inches higher, anyway).

This morning, we lay in our tent reading as the rain hammered down. We agreed to take our go/no go decision at 11 – leaving it later would’ve meant too little time on the road to be worthwhile. Seven minutes of dryish weather almost lulled us into a false sense of security, but we decided not to cycle just as another downpour struck. We have quite a few days in hand, so returned to our books.

A bit later another weather check revealed that the lake had grown, with waves almost lapping our door, and that our new pitch might get wet again.

So we picked everything up and sprinted through the rain to the highest bit of the campsite (not exactly a hilltop…) and repitched again. See photo of Rachel coordinating the evacuation. Luckily our tent can be lifted and moved as one piece, so these moves are easier than they might be. Indeed, the tent has done a sterling job of keeping the weather out.

We’ve gone on a brief cafe excursion now. There’s been a fair bit of lightning, and I scared myself sufficiently by Googling ‘lightning camping’ to make a move indoors seem wise.

The forecast says it should brighten tomorrow, but at the moment it feels like the rain might never stop.